1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a monitoring apparatus for disaster prevention which is adapted to perform, by means of a receiver, centralized control of relay units for monitoring terminals with equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional monitoring apparatus for disaster prevention which is known as a distributed disaster prevention monitoring system, one or a plurality of relay units are connected to a receiver, each relay unit being connected to a plurality of terminals with equipment, such as sensors and disaster prevention devices. Each relay unit monitors and controls these terminals with equipment. Information exchange between the relay unit(s) and the receiver allows the monitoring information obtained from the relay unit(s) to be gathered, the remote control of the disaster prevention devices to be performed, etc.
More specifically, a relay unit is installed on each floor of the building concerned, and monitors and controls the sensors and disaster prevention devices provided on that floor. If the receiver is down, each relay unit can individually conduct the monitoring and control for the floor concerned.
For this purpose, relay unit data for monitoring and controlling the terminals with equipment on each floor is set and stored in each relay unit. This relay unit data may consist, for example, of region bell ringing matrix data, anti-smoke-emission interlocking matrix data, accumulation/non-accumulation setting data, etc.
Such relay unit data is usually stored in an ROM provided in a relay unit. When shipping the relay unit, this relay unit data is stored in the associated ROM beforehand in accordance with basic specifications. Accordingly, it often happens that the relay unit data is not in conformity with the terminal equipment installation condition on the actual installation site as a result of a design change, etc. In such cases, the relay unit data must be revised on the installation site. And so in this conventional monitoring apparatus for disaster prevention, the accuracy of the relay unit data is required, because a error of the relay unit data causes a matter of life and death.
When thus revising ROM data (relay unit data) on an installation site, it is necessary to go to the place where the relay unit is to be installed and replace the existing ROM by a new ROM to which new relay unit data has been written using an ROM writer or the like.
In conventional apparatuses for disaster prevention, the operation of revising relay unit data is rather troublesome since a revision of data can only be effected by going to the respective relay units installed on the different floors of the building concerned. Furthermore, frequent changes in partitions and equipment are generally made during the period between the installation of the monitoring apparatus for disaster prevention and the completion of the building, and the relay unit data must be revised each time such a change is made, a circumstance which makes the operation of revising the relay unit data still more troublesome. In addition, there is a problem that an accuracy of the revised relay unit data is not guaranteed.